Light gauge securing clip



0d. 9, 1945 E DoggE 2,386,386

LIGHT GAUGE SECURING CLIP Filed' Aug; 8, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet l f "glx 71 7 ow y/myaaflwm I Oct. 9, 1945. E. e. DOKE 2,386,386

LIGHT GAUGE SECURING CLIP "Filed Aug. 8, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Ifzveizbr grizesf lDo/ae Patented Oct. 9, 1945 'aassssc I TLILGHTLG'AUGESEGURING CLIP Ernes't G. Doke,-( }hicago, Ill., 'assignorto'MaciLean-Fogg -Look :Nut Company, :Gliica'go, :III.,

a corporation of lllinois *Application'August 8, 1941,Serial No. 405,9752.7:Cil-atims. 1C1. 189-35) .This invention relates Ito securing clipsand more particularly to clipsoflthetype whichmay be used in securing.together "members which overlapin.ofisetrelationas. for example,.thelfloor boards ,and .their. supporting -sills in. railway car,portiona1..to the stresses an'dstrains which -the vclips.arerequired towithstandrinuse; has neces- .sarily been relativelyqheavyand i thus. of.substantial weight ,in.re1ation to .the -e'fiective engagement.orbearingrareabf -the .clips.

Such clips..ma be equipped .withiintegralrnutdocking meansconsistingofportions. severedirom the lb'odyb'f Jtherespective .clipsrand arrangedLto Joe Ibent .into .enga gement with a .face of .the tightened .nut.01? .the fastening Jbolt .to .prevent .unintentionallooseningbi'thenllt. .Fromttime ito .time, it may be .necessaryto .loosen .orremouethe .clip vtoadjust .or ..replace lthe .menibers ..secured thereby andthisnecessitatesbendingthe .nutelockwback into.nonlockingmosition.'lInrrailwaybar fioors','the locking ,andcunlo'cking. operationsmay.take place asmanyas tenor. more times iniithe life 10f Fa .c1ip,.as .itbecomes .necessary ato up.shrinkage.slaek .in the floor lboards .ormakemepairsoftone.sorter another.

lDneto .the ,thicknessbf 'the clip stock, .various texpedientslhavebeen.resor'te'dto iorire'ducing the resistance fto bending .lof ..the.nut-lokssuch, .ior exann'ile; as .forming .the .same l'from anlintegral section-.61 .reduce'd ltliickness .on the .cliplloody. Where.the .thickness .of Lthe. nutlock -.at .thepnint o'flbendi'ng'is such asto .o'fier substantial. resist- .anoeItobending;notonlyiis more effortand'labor involved in manipulating fthe nut-lock, but the number .of.bendings -which .fairly li'limite'd. ."Allgoflthese'factors, of course,affect notorily the initial Cost nf the clips as .well as the i laborc'ostsin applying .or removing the clips, .but also the 'e'ificiency'o'fthe clips in their particularenvironmentsand the useful life of theclips under conditions su-cha inentioned. v Anfaim of "the presentinvention is to ,provide a construction for the clips which permits theuse of -sheet"meta1 stock;of much reduced gauge compared with priorconstructions, without loss .Another object Lto fform .the .clips insuch a ,manner .as to attain greater strength and fin- .crea'sed .andLbetter distribution -.of bearing .areas than prior clips of comparableweight.

Lit ican .withstan'd 'is .Sti'l1.anothernbject is .to enable .useof;afu11 lbody-'-thickness .porti0n of. such aclip'for the nut- .lock-andyetpermit relatively easy bending .of

.the. nutlock. intonandrout of locking position.

A. iurtheriobjectfis to .provide. a novel securing clip of thischaracter which maybe efiic-iently .and .quickly, formed .by. asimplestamping-process from plain, relatively. thin gauge an'ciiinexpensivesheetmetalstock, which alsois simple and easy to applyorremovesolthatlabor costs are'minimized. and which has ra long useful.life .even in circumstances requiring numerous .removals orshiftingsto'flthe clip.

(Other. obiectsand advantages of the invention ,wiliTbe .anparent .fromthe following description of .certain. specific embodiments. of the"invention and the accompanying drawings showing ;the same, inwhichsimilar ,characters .of reference -indicate similar'parts throughout theseveral views. inihedravtings:

?Fig..' '1 .is airagmentary vertical sectional view takenthrougharailwaybarfioor assemblyshowing--.one-.o'f my clips in side elevation;

.F.'ig."21is a top ,plan .view ofthe clip;

'Fig.i3isan end view ofth'e clip. looking toward the left,as.shown.inIEig."2;

Rig. 4 is ajtopperspective'view ofthe clip;

.Fig. 5 is afragmentary vertical sectionai'view through the floorassembly showing a modified 'form of my clip'in. side elevation;

-Fig.'6 is a topperspective viewoflthe modified clip shown'in Fig.3;

.Fig. '7 is ,a side elevational view .of another modified "form of .theclip; 7

Fig. 8is a right end'vi'ew of the clip shownjin Fig-" 1Fig.'"9.is a top.plan viewoi .the clip jdi.Fig."'7,;

Fig. 10. is a .top perspective view o'f the clipl of .Fig. .1 1 is a.top p1an-view-.of a further-modified form P of the clip; 1 1

:Fig. 12 is;a rightiend view- 0f the'clip shownzir Figjzllgand JFig.lfiisratoprperspective view-10f the cclip of Fig.=.11.

By away of illustrating an important use for whicha clip I 5 (Figs. 1 to4) embodying the features of the invention'is adapted, Ih-ave-'-shownafragment-of arailwaycar fioor having, as the members to be securedtogether by thepclip, a'sill l6 and .a flood board l-T. The "sill .16 asillustrated is 'in the form of a "lateral lhorizontal flange .of astandard angularrmetal shape. forming'onesi'deof the 'floorframestructure. An end bend 2| provides a line of substantial reenforce'-.

ment transversely of the clip.

One of the flanges of the clip, in this instance the sill-engagingflange l9, has an aperture 22 reenforced construction of the clip, is.that although the clip may be provided with engagement areas at theopposite sides of the rib 25 equivalent to or even greater than theengagement areas of comparable clips formed of flat, heavier gaugestock, there is a substantial reduction in weight due to the smallergross amount of material required for each clip. This reduction in perunit weight may amount to.as much as one-third. Since metal costs are animportant factor in determining the sales price of the clips, it will beappreciated that the present fclip effects a substantial saving in cost.In addition, there is the advantage of weight readjacent to, but spacedfrom, the bend 2| for receiving the shank of a fastening bolt 23 which Eis carried by and extends downwardly from the 1 floor board I! close tothe edge of the sill 16.

A nut 24 is threaded on the lower end:of the bolt 23 and draws the clipup tight against the floor board and the sill. Since the bolt-engagedsection of the, flange I9 is at about the center of the clip andprovides a bridge between the bend 2| and the edge of the sill 16, thethrust of the bolt is well distributed to both flanges of the clip.

The flanges IS and may be initially slightly toed in. Thus, when theflanges are drawn up flat against the sill and the floor board, the

flanges are placed under enough tension by'flexure at the bridge of theclip to take up a reasonable amount of slack that may develop subsequentto installation of the floor. This feature, as well as the bridge natureof the portion of the clip engaged by the fastening bolt, adapts theclip for use with sillsfiof different thicknesses within certain limits.

An important feature of the invention is the construction of the clipwhich permits the use of thinner gauge sheet metal stock. To this end,the relatively thin sheet metal body, of the clip may be embossed orribbed for reenforcement. In the clip IS, a medial 'reenforcingrib ofchannel-shape cross-section extends longitudinally of the clip throughboth the. sill-"engaging and the board-engaging flanges l9 and 2B. lhewidth of, the rib is'preferably such as to provide a fullbearingjsurface. for the thrust face of the nut 24, and the connectingmeansorside walls of the rib, identified bythe numeral 21, arepreferably located in line with the thrust face of the tightened nut. If

It will thus be seen that the reenforcing rib 25 so strengthens the clipstructure that it will stand up sturdily and dependably underhard usage,even though the bodyof the clip is made from a gauge ofsheet metal whichin flat condition might not adequately withstand the strains to. whichit must submit. These strains are particularly severe in a :railway carfloor because of the tendency at times of the sill l5 and floor board I!to move relatively due tothe twisting or movement of the car floorresulting from such factors as uneven distribution of the car load,swaying and distortion of the car while traveling over uneven roadbeds,and the like. The reenforced clip 15 may, however, be made for such usefrom sheet metal as thin as ll-gauge (U. S. standard) or aboutone-eighth inch, or even thinner with same steelsas compared with "whereweight reduction is ductionin ,a structure such as a railway car animportant desideratum.

Anotheradvantage of the invention accrues as a result of the wider andbetter distribution of the engagement areas of the clip with respect .tothe faces of the sill IS and the floor board ll due to the medialseparation and lateral spacing of these areas by the rib 25. Thus,instead of the flanges of the clip engaging the sill l6 and the floorboard I! at single, relatively narrow portions of their faces, as inprior clips, the flanges of clip l5 engage them at laterally spacedportions. For example, where a prior clip may have presented a flangesurface in a single width of one and one-half inches, the present clipmay present'lateral wing sections of three-quarter inch each spacedapart by the width of the rib 25. Although the total engagement areas ofthe clip flanges l9 and 20 may be the same as in yet remain withinsubstantially the established or permissible weight. limits.

Because of the relatively thin gauge of the stock from which the clip [5is made, a bendable nut-lock in the form of a narrow tongue 28 may bprovided without requiring reduction in thickness of the stock in orderto permit quick and easy .bending of the tongue into locking positionagainst one face of the tightened nut 24.

As shown, the tongue 28 is severed, by means of spaced parallel slits29, from the longitudinal center of the rib '25jwhere the rib extendsacross the flange 2|]. Thelocking tongue. 28 might also beseveredfromthe section of the rib which extends across the flange 19. If preferred,of course,

some other form ofnut-locking device may be used instead of the tongue28.

3-gauge (U. S. standard) or one-quarter inch or thicker materialrequired for clips with unreenforced flanges. v

A distinct advantage resulting from the rib The slits 29 extend from theend of the clip inwardly to terminate adjacent and preferably under thenut 24 when the latter is in tightened position so that the tongue 28may be bent substantially flat against theadjacent face of the As seenin Figs. 1 andB, the tongue 28 may, before it is bent into lockingposition, lie in substantially the plane of the sill flange portion ofthe rib 25, so that there is substantial clearance between the tongueandthe under surface of the flange 20 to facilitate engagement of thetongue by means of a suitable bending. tool. By preference, the tongue28 actually projects slightly beyond the board-engaging end of the clip,as shown in dot-dash outlin inFig. 1 and full outline in Figi 2, andthus additionally facilitates the bending engagement;

In the modified form of:the-clipshown iri'lfigs. 7: to: 10,- inclusive,.identifie'd by the numeral. I a substantially more rigidconstructionis: attaine'd; especially in theboard-engaging'portion thereof,byincreasingthe reenforcement of f such portion.- 'Inthis form of clip,-similarly as in the-clip IS, the body of the clip'is'stamped'from anelongated relatively thin sheet metal-blankto provide a" sill-engagingflange and 'aboardengaging flange 3| in appropriately offset planes andconnected by an'off settin'gwall or shoulder 32. A relatively wide'medial reenforcing rib- 33 extends longitudinally of the clip. In thesillflange portion thereof, the rib 33 is fairlyish'allow; but in theboard-flange portion rather'deep and of increased strength, thecentralilong-itudi nal wall meant the rib throughout its lengthpreferably lying in a common plane. Thus, the

portion of the ribwhich-extends across the flange 3| is of substantiallygreater-depth than inthe clip |5 and provides connecting walls-340isubstantially greater width and'definite angularit'yrelative to thelateral bearing-wing'sections of the flange 3|. In'the present instance,thewalls 34 converge-in substantially V-shape at the base'of therib. As'a result, the strength ofthe flange 3| isimproved longitudinally.

- An. integral nut-locking tongue maybe formed on the clip I5 bysevering from therlb 33=a narrowsectioninwardly from the end of thesill-flange 30 by means of spaced parallel slits 31 extending inalinement with a'bolt aperture 38. Because of the tool clearanceafforded by the downwardly offset character of the base of the 'rib*33relative to the sill -engaging win'gportions ofthe flange 30, it ishardly necessary to initially, form'the tongue3-5'away'from the body of'the'clip to enable bending engagement of the tongue, even though the endof the tongue is shown as slightly curved down.

In order to attain even greater yieldability: of the tongue 35 at thepoint of bending than-afforded by thethin gauge-of the metal stock, thetransversesection oi'the tongue may be reduced as indicated at 39bytoeing in the inner ends ofthe slits 31, as at '40.

Rotation-of the-clip about the axis of its fas tening boltmay beprevented by means such as prongs-4| extending up from the boardflange-3| to penetrate the associated floor board. Inthe presentinstance, the prongs 4| are-formed integrally with the flange 3| bybending up the relatively sharp outer corner portions of the wingsections of this flange. It is possible, of course, to make the clipnon-turning without the prongs 4|, by increasing the length of thesill-engaging flange 30 so that it will extend into engagement with anabutment on the sill member, such as provided by the web of the sill.

For some purposes, the reinforced construction of the modified form ofclip identified by I5 in Figs. 11, 12 and 13, may be preferred. In thisclip, olfset sill-engaging and board-engaging portions or flanges 42 and43 are provided which are longitudinally deformed by a medianreenforcing rib 44 which has its entire flat base area in a commonplane. In the sill flange 42 the reenforcing rib 44 may be broad andshallow as in the described forms, but in the flange 43, the rib hasside walls 45 which extend longitudinally toward convergence at theirouter ends.

Transversely the side walls extend substantially perpendicularly to theengagement wing sections of ther'fl'ange 43: In. providing this shape;.the wing. sections. of? the flange 4'3may. extend'toward;v one anotherat their outer ends but with out: diminishing: their efie'ctiv'erboard-engaging area; Y

ninut lock ini the form of. a narrow tongue 4'! may-be severed" out ofthe base portion of the new between tne side walls 45' and. in alinementwi'th a bolt' aperture 48. The forward end of the: nut lo'ck 41 issevered short I of the converging side walls 45, and the adjacent: endof the-rib 44 therefore remains solid and free from possible weakeningas Whereth'e end edge of the clip: sev'ered in the cutting out f thelocking tong e:- At its base end, the tongue 41' may, ifde'si'red, bere'duc'edin transverse section as in cli'cated at' 4'9 in order 'tofacilitate bending there- I of Prongs-5ll may be pressed directly fromthe material of the wing sections of the flange43, for the purposeofengaging in theassociated'fioor beard and preventing turning of the cliprelative to the associated fastening bolt.

Although the'clip'sl5, |5 and |5 are-of the P bridge type(the-'bolt-engaged portion o-f'the clip forming abridge between theoffsetting bend' of the clip and the-edge of the sillhthe features ofthe invention are also-applicable'to'the con ventional ty e of clipwhere the fastening bolt engages the board engaging flange of the clipandtlie offsetting bend of the clip approaches close to orabuts theedgeof thefioor sill; A clip [5, having this-general form; is shown inFigs. 5 and 61 Tlle-olip'-| 5 comprises a relativelylong-boardengagingflange 51"- and'" a shorter silt-engaging flange 52integrallyconnected in offset relation by 'a -bend53: The shank 'of'thebolt 23; which'is necessarily set substantially farther from; the

edge of the sill |5-in this instance than in Fig. 1'-, passes through anaperture 54 at approximately the center of the board 'engaging flange 5|and the nut 24-bears against the area of the flange 5| adjacent-theaperture.

I'nstead of" Having but a single relatively-wide reeniorcing rib; theclip I5" may-be formed" with a plurality of narrower, equally spacedlongitu dinal reenforcing ribs 55} Although the ribs 55 are shown asthree in number and of substantially uniformchannel shape throughouttheir length, the'nurnber, formand spacing ofthe ribs may, of-c-ourse,be varied to accommodate various pref erences-or conditions. Anadvantage of the in= cieased' number andsmaller size of -"there'en'f'orc ing ribs Beds-that athinn'er metal stock may-be used for theclip.

Since the center one of the ribs 55 extends medially of the clip, thebolt hole 54 passes through such rib, and the fastening nut 24, becauseof the narrow and closely spaced arrangement of the ribs, may engage thebase portions or webs of all of the ribs. Should the nut be too smallfor this, a washer may be interposed between the nut and the opposingarea of the clip.

If for any reason it is desirable that either or both of the flanges 5|and 52 be more strongly reenforced, the portions of any one or more ofthe ribs 55 therein may be deepened or otherwise mod fied for increasedstrength. The sill-engaging flange 52, in particular, may under someconditions be more effective if additionally reenforced because it isthe shorter of the flanges and thus has less holding area, and becauseit is required to Withstand lever strains to which the boardengagingflange 5| is not subjected.

wjAn "integral nut-locking tongue 5] may icon- -veniently be'severedfrom the board-flange portion-of the .center rib 55 as shown, with thebase otthe tongue joining. the areaoi the clip adjacent the aperture 54at a point inwardly of the spread-of the nut 24. Initially, the'lockingtongue maybe-within the plane of the center rib web or maybeslightlyturned down at the end (broken outline of ,Fig. 5 and full outline ofFig. 6) A bending tool may conveniently be inserted in the ribclearance; for engaging the tongue to bend thetongue into nut-lockingposition (Fig. 5).

-The clips, and particularly the clips l5 and 15, may conveniently becut from respective rolled ribbedsectiqns of the same widths as thefinished .c1ips, such sections being supplied in any lengths thatmayponveniently be handled. On the other hand, all forms of the clip areadapted to be termed as bystamping or pressing directlyfrom flatsheiit,metal. p

From theioregoing itwill be apparent that the present inventionprovidesan improved securing a clip which may be constructed from sheet metal vof substantiallyreduced gauge as compared with prior clips intended forsimilar uses. The simple and efiicient reenforcing features of theinvention not only reduce the weight of the clip, but also strengthenthe structure and make possible an advantageous distribution of theefiective bearing area of the clip. Where desirable, one portion oftheclip may be more strongly reenforced than the remainder. Because ofthe thinner material that may thus be used for the body of the clip, thenut-locking member may be formed directly from the body of the clipwithout reduction inthickness and may yet be bent withggreat facilityinto or out of locking position.= In addition, the clip may be formedeconomically by simple quantity production methods soth'at it may beproduced at low cost.

While I have shown in the drawings, and have herein described in detailcertain preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that I do notthereby intend tolimit the invention'to the specific forms disclosed butintend to cover all modifications and alternative constructions fallingwithin the spirit and scope of the invention as expressed in thefollowing claims.

I claim:

1. In combination in a securing clip of the character described, a pairoi integrally connected flanges relatively offset in their major planesfor engagement with the respective ofiset surfaces of a pair of membersto be secured together, and-a reenforcing rib extending through both ofsaid fiangeathe sides ofsaid rib being wider in one of said flanges thanin the other ion increasing the reenforcement of said one flange.

'2. In combination in a clip of the character described for securingtogether a pair of membershaving respective offset engageable surfaces,a pair of integrally connected offset flange portions for engaging therespective surfaces, and a reenforcing rib extending across both of saidflangelportions in offset relation to the surfaceengaging faces of saidportions and having its base lying in a common plane, whereby the ribisldeeper in one of said portions and afiords correspondingly greaterreenforcement than in the other of :said portions.

3. Aclip as defined in claim 2 wherein the walls of the deeper portionof the reenforcing rib convergein substantially V-shape.

"4. A clip as defined in claim 2 wherein the walls of the deeper portionof the reenforcing rib extendin generally converging relation toward theassociated end edgeof the clip.

5;-A clip asdefined in claim 2 wherein the reenforcing rib has a boltaperture therethrough located substantially centrally of the clip.

6. A clip of the character described for securing together a pairofmembers having relatively offset engagement surfaces, integrallyconnected ofiset portions for engaging said surfaces, a reenforcing ribextending across both of said portions, and side walls connecting saidribto the remainder of the respective portions, the side walls'of therib in one of said portions extending in generally converging relationtoward one edge of such portion. l1 7. recombination in a clip of thecharacter describe'd'for securing together a pair of members havingrespective ofiset engageable surfaces, a pair of integrally connectedoffset flange portions for engaging the respective surfaces, and areenforcing rib extending continuously across both of said flangeportions and their integral connection in offset relation to thesurface-engaging faces ofsaid portions and having its base provided witha bolt hole spaced from said connection, the externalsurface of the ribbase being plane for engagement with the thrust face of a nutcooperating with a bolt occupying the bolt hole, and said rib havingside walls which lie parallel with each other on opposite sides of thebolt hole and are there spaced from each other a distance correspondingwith the width of the nut thrust face.

' ERNEST G. DOKE.

